Austinist: Bun in the Oven: Breast is Best

Dalton Turney

Sun, 31 Dec 2006 15:23:14 -0600

Turkmen lawmakers back caretaker as new president..

mamalara

Mon, 14 Aug 2006 12:36:07 -0600

You have to do what you can and balance your personal pros and cons. My boy couldn't latch (health problems) and I ended up pumping for 9 months, he got all he needed and the milk bank got some stock too. It got easier after a few weeks, and I feel blessed I was able to do what I could - who knew B-cups could produce for 2. But I know plenty moms who just couldn't, and there's lots of fine healthy folk raised on formula. Do what you know in your heart is best for you and yours, and blow off your critics - you'll need to get used to that - for all the mamas holding forth on pregnancy, topics multiply once bun is out of the oven.

alison

Fri, 11 Aug 2006 16:16:10 -0600

It was tough at first but after the first few months it was so easy and actually much more convenient than taking the time to pump or put a bottle together. It also helps heaps with soothing them and getting them back to sleep. Just don't give up right away and also, don't feel hopeless or guilty about supplementing if that is what you need to do to get through. A few bottles of formula won't ruin breastfeeding. My girl was a month premature and she wouldn't latch at first and I cried for days, but we made it through and I ended up nursing her for over two years. Call me weird, but it was just so easy to do and she loved it! I felt the benefits of breastfeeding were worth the difficult times, but I admit I used some back up when it got too hard (knowing full well that I wasn't giving up). Okay, that's my two cents.

Jooley Ann

Fri, 11 Aug 2006 12:12:39 -0600

Donna: Y'know, that's kind of how quickening has been for me. My mom keeps asking "doesn't it feel wonderful?" and I keep saying "no, it just feels really really weird." Tim: Indeed! Which is why it is SO nice to live in a city where we've got an amazing resource pool and a general public vibe of support. IMO that's all related to Austin's highly educated populace, but I might be a tad biased. Best: Sounds like a nightmare, but congrats for pushing through...without ever coming to blows with anyone. :)

I did my best

Fri, 11 Aug 2006 11:18:13 -0600

My son never got a proper latch, *hated* being at the breast, it was traumatic to both of us. So I pumped *all* his meals for 4 months. Every single one, round the clock. Pump-session, feeding him breast-milk with a bottle, cleaning the pump-parts/bottles afterward. Hardly slept at all. At 4 months my supply dwindled b/c he needed more and I had returned to work P/T at 2 months. We switched to Nature's One Organic and never looked back. After those 4 months of pumping if one mama or LLL-nazi had any problem with what I was did I would have socked them in the face.

Tim

Fri, 11 Aug 2006 11:10:40 -0600

Breast Feeding is hard. Very hard. I had no clue how much I would be involved as a husband for the first two weeks or so. But at the same time, the more studies that come out the more it appears that using formula increases hospital visits, infant mortality, allegies, asthma, SIDS risk, possibly contributes to obesity later in life and lowers IQ. The US has pretty poor infant mortality rates cutting across all income levels. You could grow up just fine, but when you consider that parents seem to constantly fretting about freak statistcally improbably accidents ("omg my stroller could kill my baby!"), the nations love of formula seems a bit odd. I would expect that within 50 years we will see lawsuits similar to tabbaco lawsuits. Remember, the formula fed baby generation is just now reaching middle age. It will be interesting to see how this impacts their cancer risk and longevity. I would also not describe the state of formula kids as "fine". Have you looked at the increases in every sort of childhood disease and cancer? We like to eat our organic foods and blame industry and pesticides, but industry has gotten cleaner since we were kids and our children's health has gotten worse.

Donna

Fri, 11 Aug 2006 09:08:11 -0600

Some people just don't *like* breastfeeding. As in the feeling of it is so awful that they can not do it. i remember when i had my son, it was the *worst* feeling ever, i couldn't stand it, so i switched to formula. So be it. At 10, he's not obese (far from it, actually) or has any adverse side effects. He doesn't even have allergies. To be honest, an entire generation or two was raised on formula, and well, we seem to be doing just fine.